Ushaw Moor is an old

pit village A pit village, colliery village or mining village is a settlement built by colliery owners to house their workers. The villages were built on the coalfields of Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution where new coal mines were developed in ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, on the north side of the

River Deerness The River Deerness in County Durham, England is a tributary to the River Browney, which is itself a tributary the River Wear. It rises near Tow Law and descends through the Deerness Valley for a distance of , passing the villages of Waterhous ...

. It is situated to the west of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, a short distance to the south of

Bearpark Bearpark is a village and civil parish in County Durham in England. It is situated two and a half miles west of Durham, and a short distance to the north of Ushaw Moor. The name may be a corruption of the French term ''Beau Repaire'' � ...

. Ushaw Moor falls within the Deerness electoral ward in the City of Durham constituency, whose MP since 2019 has been Mary Foy.

Etymology

It most likely seems that the name 'Ushaw' comes from

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n origin which, when translated, means 'wolves' wood'. With the addition of Moor we get 'the moor near the wood of wolves'.

History

Parish registers suggests that the settlement dates to a least the sixteenth century. The village existed in a largely agricultural state, with a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

being its one feature up till the nineteenth century.

In 1804 Bishop William Gibson ordered the building of St. Cuthbert's College, later named

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for its Georgian and Vict ...

, which opened in 1808. A chapel was added in 1847, followed by a library and exhibition hall. This closed in 2011 as a seminary and opened in 2014 as a visitor attraction and is known as Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens. In 1858 a

drift mine Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above ...

was established at Ushaw Moor Colliery selling

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

on the landsale system. This was purchased in 1879 by Henry Chaytor of

Witton Castle Witton Castle is a much-altered 15th-century castle, which is the centrepiece of a holiday and caravan country park at Witton le Wear, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham. It is a Grade II* listed building. Details Sir Ralph Eure obtained a lic ...

. During his tenure there was a large strike, following the deliberate sacking of an elected union leader in 1881. The strike was ended when a number of

policemen A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

were brought into the village to evict the strikers and their families; such treatment was not uncommon in those times. Mr Chaytor, sick of the years of industrial unrest, sold Ushaw Moor colliery to Pease & Partners in 1883. From this time, the workmen and community had an easier life, the new owners helping rather than opposing them. However, Ushaw Moor colliery closed in 1960, as part of the collapse of the Durham coal fields. In the last thirty years it has grown and become the centre of the Deerness Valley, becoming unusually prosperous where most pit villages have struggled. Good links with Durham and Newcastle and good local schools and amenities has meant it is very popular with first time buyers.

Geography

Ushaw Moor is approximately 2 miles west of

and 20 miles south of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. The Deerness Valley Railway Path, an eight-mile stretch of scenic woodland pathway converted from the former tracks of the

Deerness Valley Railway The Deerness Valley Railway was an 8-mile long single track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Deerness in County Durham, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Deerness Valley Junction, on the Durham ...

, runs through Ushaw Moor.

Education

Ushaw Moor is the location of Silver Tree Primary School and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School. Durham Academy is the main secondary school for the village.

, until its closure in 2011, was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

and one of the constituent colleges of the

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

. The college is currently being used by

Durham University Business School Durham University Business School is the business school of Durham University and is located in Durham, England. Established in 1965, it holds triple accreditation (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). It is currently ranked between 7th and 67th in the wo ...

whilst its own site is redeveloped. Ushaw College also hosts the annual Ushaw Jazz Festival.

Religion

Ushaw Moor is served by three churches: * Ushaw Moor Baptist Church * St. Luke's Church * St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Sports

Ushaw Moor Cricket Club was established in 1881 and has 2 senior teams and 4 junior teams.

References

External links

Ushaw Moor Community and Historical Website

Subterranea Britannica information on Ushaw Moor station

Ushaw Moor Post Office Website
{{authority control Villages in County Durham